4 ms·

Imgur only has yearly revenues of around $30m. The money they make in the UK specifically likely doesn't justify wasting resources on compliance.

toomuchtodo 1y ago
It is an image storage service masquerading as a business. It will be of no loss if it were to fail entirely.
- perihelions 1y ago
  > "It will be of no loss if it were to fail entirely." That's decades of the public internet that would be permanently erased; billions of dead links pointing nowhere. HN alone would lose ~32,000 images from its archives, https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=imgur.com&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... Is it not hubris to call it "no loss" if, say, 3 hours ago, "Design of a LISP-based microprocessor / Page 22 has a map of the processor layout:" was forever lost to humanity, as collateral damage to some techbros' dispute? Decentralization can't arrive soon enough.
  - toomuchtodo 1y ago
    > Is it not hubris to call it "no loss" if, say, 3 hours ago, "Design of a LISP-based microprocessor / Page 22 has a map of the processor layout:" was forever lost to humanity, as collateral damage to some techbros' dispute? https://web.archive.org/web/20230427181813/https://i.imgur.com/zwaJMQC.jpg https://web.archive.org/web/20230427181813/https://i.imgur.c... (link is already dead at Imgur) Wayback will have them, as is tradition. A crawl (non IA) has been kicked off to reconcile to ensure maximum coverage of Imgur links on HN.
    - dvngnt_ 1y ago
      This is much less accessible to the average user and there's no guarantee that archive sites will be here in the future https://www.wired.com/story/internet-archive-loses-hachette-books-case-appeal/ https://www.wired.com/story/internet-archive-loses-hachette-...
      - toomuchtodo 1y ago
        The Internet Archive will outlast Imgur. I'm willing to bet on it if you'd like, feel free to propose terms for resolution and preferred forum. (Accessing Imgur archives in Wayback is as trivial as a browser extension for your average user; Imgur has raised $60M and only does ~$30M/year, they will eventually be sold or close as the user experience degrades as operators and investors attempt to squeeze more from the enterprise)
    - varispeed 1y ago
      archive.org is also blocked in the UK. I cannot access it without VPN.
      - teamonkey 1y ago
        I can, it’s not blocked.
        varispeed 1y ago
        It is blocked by many ISPs because it contains adult content. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/internet-archive-wayback-machine-blocked-vodafone-three-o2-ee-can-change-that/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/internet-archive-...
        teamonkey 1y ago
        These are optional adult filters that you can unblock. I have phones on O2 and EE and am able to access archive.org. I believe that you do need to have proven to the ISP that you are over 18. Paying by credit card counts. The government requires that ISPs provide some opt-out adult filtering, but archive.org being blocked seems like an over-zealous third party moderation list, not government censorship.
  - Jach 1y ago
    As already pointed out that link is already gone, except for the IA. That's part of why it's "no loss" -- it's not actually lost. Personally even if the IA didn't have a copy, I'd still say "marginal loss" and "inconvenient". imgur is just another in the line of image hosting sites that have come and gone. Much of what it hosts isn't actually high value, and isn't actually the sole copy. Not sure what you're pining for with respect to "decentralization" -- we already have it, nothing stops someone from uploading an imgur image elsewhere, either the original uploader or someone downloading and reuploading somewhere. There are other image hosting sites. And yes, the internet is filled with dead URLs, privatized or deleted forums and discords and twitter accounts that host or previously hosted unique discussion or media, etc. etc. and any number of other minor tragedies. imgur totally dying would be among the least of them.
    - rabf 1y ago
      My ISP here in the UK blocks the Internet Archive!
- donatj 1y ago
  > image storage service masquerading as a business … > service Money is good for goods and services… If people give them money or cough ad revenue and get the service they want, that’s called a business.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- EasyMark 1y ago
  I highly doubt if they will fail just because they block UK IP addresses?

toomuchtodo 1y ago

It is an image storage service masquerading as a business. It will be of no loss if it were to fail entirely.

perihelions 1y ago
> "It will be of no loss if it were to fail entirely." That's decades of the public internet that would be permanently erased; billions of dead links pointing nowhere. HN alone would lose ~32,000 images from its archives, https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=imgur.com&sort=byDate&type=comment https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu... Is it not hubris to call it "no loss" if, say, 3 hours ago, "Design of a LISP-based microprocessor / Page 22 has a map of the processor layout:" was forever lost to humanity, as collateral damage to some techbros' dispute? Decentralization can't arrive soon enough.
- toomuchtodo 1y ago
  > Is it not hubris to call it "no loss" if, say, 3 hours ago, "Design of a LISP-based microprocessor / Page 22 has a map of the processor layout:" was forever lost to humanity, as collateral damage to some techbros' dispute? https://web.archive.org/web/20230427181813/https://i.imgur.com/zwaJMQC.jpg https://web.archive.org/web/20230427181813/https://i.imgur.c... (link is already dead at Imgur) Wayback will have them, as is tradition. A crawl (non IA) has been kicked off to reconcile to ensure maximum coverage of Imgur links on HN.
  - dvngnt_ 1y ago
    This is much less accessible to the average user and there's no guarantee that archive sites will be here in the future https://www.wired.com/story/internet-archive-loses-hachette-books-case-appeal/ https://www.wired.com/story/internet-archive-loses-hachette-...
    - toomuchtodo 1y ago
      The Internet Archive will outlast Imgur. I'm willing to bet on it if you'd like, feel free to propose terms for resolution and preferred forum. (Accessing Imgur archives in Wayback is as trivial as a browser extension for your average user; Imgur has raised $60M and only does ~$30M/year, they will eventually be sold or close as the user experience degrades as operators and investors attempt to squeeze more from the enterprise)
  - varispeed 1y ago
    archive.org is also blocked in the UK. I cannot access it without VPN.
    - teamonkey 1y ago
      I can, it’s not blocked.
      - varispeed 1y ago
        It is blocked by many ISPs because it contains adult content. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/internet-archive-wayback-machine-blocked-vodafone-three-o2-ee-can-change-that/ https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/internet-archive-...
        teamonkey 1y ago
        These are optional adult filters that you can unblock. I have phones on O2 and EE and am able to access archive.org. I believe that you do need to have proven to the ISP that you are over 18. Paying by credit card counts. The government requires that ISPs provide some opt-out adult filtering, but archive.org being blocked seems like an over-zealous third party moderation list, not government censorship.
- Jach 1y ago
  As already pointed out that link is already gone, except for the IA. That's part of why it's "no loss" -- it's not actually lost. Personally even if the IA didn't have a copy, I'd still say "marginal loss" and "inconvenient". imgur is just another in the line of image hosting sites that have come and gone. Much of what it hosts isn't actually high value, and isn't actually the sole copy. Not sure what you're pining for with respect to "decentralization" -- we already have it, nothing stops someone from uploading an imgur image elsewhere, either the original uploader or someone downloading and reuploading somewhere. There are other image hosting sites. And yes, the internet is filled with dead URLs, privatized or deleted forums and discords and twitter accounts that host or previously hosted unique discussion or media, etc. etc. and any number of other minor tragedies. imgur totally dying would be among the least of them.
  - rabf 1y ago
    My ISP here in the UK blocks the Internet Archive!
donatj 1y ago
> image storage service masquerading as a business … > service Money is good for goods and services… If people give them money or cough ad revenue and get the service they want, that’s called a business.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
EasyMark 1y ago
I highly doubt if they will fail just because they block UK IP addresses?